


Rough Divide

by yodepalma



Series: limit break [9]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Attempt at Humor, Gen, Gladio is trying his best ok, Headcanon, Implied/Referenced Torture, Pre-Game(s), cake is important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 18:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10791933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yodepalma/pseuds/yodepalma
Summary: "Fuck this, I am not dealing with crickets today," the same guy from earlier says. Gladio snickers as he watches him storm out of the room, but then the crickets chirp again and the smile drops from his face.Son of a bitch. He knows those crickets. Why the fuck is Iggy texting him?





	Rough Divide

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion piece to rhymeswithpi's Blitz, and kind of...leads into it? I guess? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

_Rough Divide_

"Don't tell me a cricket got in here again," someone snarls, distracting Gladio from his fight. "I fucking hate crickets."

His opponent snorts but doesn't look away, so Gladio refocuses. Not that he needs to pay that much attention; it's a good fight, but not as good as what he's gotten used to. It only takes a couple of minutes before he wins, and he's barely even winded. Shit like this is what really makes him miss Iggy.

"Fuck this, I am _not_ dealing with crickets today," the same guy from earlier says. Gladio snickers as he watches him storm out of the room, but then the crickets chirp again and the smile drops from his face.

Son of a bitch. He _knows_ those crickets. Why the fuck is Iggy texting him?

He stomps over to the jacket he left crumpled in a corner and digs his phone out of the pocket, debating the merits of throwing it. It would be so _satisfying_ to see it smash into pieces against the wall, except his dad will kill him if he breaks another phone. And what if Iggy needs help? He'd never forgive himself if someone got hurt because he was ignoring them.

He sighs as he taps in his passcode to open the chirping notification. The message pops up bright and cheerful, and all it says is "Check on noct", just like that. No punctuation, Iggy didn't even capitalize Noct's name. All these weeks without saying a damn word to him, and that's what he sends? Gladio ought to tell him to fuck off.

He would if the message wasn't making him _worry_. Unusually shitty grammar aside, Iggy hadn't even said 'please.' Whatever's wrong with him must be bad if he can't even bring himself to be polite.

Fine. Whatever. It won't kill him to call the school and find out what dumb shit Noct did this time. ... _Can_ he call the school? He vaguely remembers they had some rule about not giving information to anyone except legal guardians, and he's pretty sure _he_ doesn't count. Iggy could probably get through, but Gladio's basically a glorified bodyguard. So now what? It's not like he has _Prompto's_ number. If he did, he could just text Noct's _best friend_ and not have to worry about this at all.

Which means he'll have to take the trip out to Noct's apartment and skip the rest of his training for the day. Iggy had better be dying, because Gladio's going to _kill him_.

"Hey, Gladio, you up for another round?"

"Sorry, got an emergency to take care of," Gladio says, waving his phone in the vague direction of whoever was talking to him.

He puts his sword away without really thinking about it, trudging reluctantly through the halls of the Citadel. He rarely finds himself wishing that he lived a normal life these days, but right now the very idea of getting on the subway to go see Noct makes him think he should've told his dad he _did_ need a break from his duties. Maybe if the thought of losing his job permanently didn't unnerve him so much he would've.

He pushes his way onto a train despite the lunch crowd, wrapping an arm around a pole and leaning on it as he pulls his phone out again. He should text Iggy back, let him know Gladio's on his way to Noct's apartment. He doesn't _want_ to, except Iggy will fret about Noct if he doesn't know someone's looking in on him. Gladio briefly considers throwing his phone again, except he's on a crowded train and that would only end badly. He opens Iggy's message, types "On it." and hits send before it occurs to him that he should _probably_ say something more reassuring.

Oh well. It's not like Iggy wants to hear from him anyway.

Noct's apartment building has electronic entrances and Crownsguard hovering around the first floor all day long, but Gladio's there often enough to walk in uncontested. He waves to a couple of the guards he knows from training as he waits for the elevator, then belatedly thinks to check his messages. Nothing. He'd expected Iggy to at least _thank_ him, and he can't decide if the lack of a response annoys or worries him more. Hopefully Iggy's just trying to avoid having a conversation with him, but he doubts it.

The elevator doesn't have any music playing, and Gladio's left to his own thoughts as it climbs up to Noct's penthouse. He does his best not to wonder what the hell Iggy's doing, thinks instead about how annoying it is to be here when Noct is supposed to be at school. Kid's probably still sleeping if Iggy never showed up to wake him up that morning. Though what could possibly keep Iggy from doing his job, Gladio doesn't know.

Gladio groans and rubs his face, willing the thoughts away. Iggy can take care of himself. He doesn't need Gladio hovering over him when it's clear Iggy never wants to talk to him again.

The elevator dings to let him know he's reached Noct's floor, and he steps off with relief. He walks down the short hallway, enters the keycode without bothering to look at the number pad, and steps into the penthouse. It's almost spotless for a change, only a few pieces of detritus scattered across the living room to show that Iggy hadn't been there last night or this morning. He scowls at the stupid cat slippers Noct picked out _just for him_ as he slides them on and stomps through the apartment to the bedroom.

Noct is, as he expected, still fast asleep. Gladio shoves the curtains open, then strolls over to the bed and rips the blankets off Noct. Who makes a sound like he's _dying_ as he reaches for them.

"What the—you're not Specs." Noct rubs at an eye and yawns loudly without bothering to cover his mouth.

"Yeah, good afternoon to you too," Gladio says. "Get your ass out of bed."

"But where's Iggy? And what happened to your hands?"

Gladio runs a finger over the bandage on his right hand. He'd forgotten to change the damn things this morning and there's marks of blood seeping through to the surface. It might have been from the night before or he might have reopened something during training today, but either way it's not worth thinking about. "Hit something," he finally says, dropping his hands again. "You gonna get up or do I have to carry you out to the kitchen for lunch?"

"I'm _up_ , gees." Noct flails his way out of bed, fumbling with the phone on his bedside table and staring at it. Probably texting Iggy to ask what the hell's going on. Gladio decides to leave him to it.

He takes Noct's blankets with him, though, because if he doesn't Noct will just go back to sleep.

Everything in the kitchen needs to be cooked. Gladio slams the fridge closed, slams through the cabinets, and tries to ignore the signs of Iggy everywhere he looks. When he finally comes across a few Cup Noodles hiding in the back of a cabinet he almost cries with relief. And checks the expiration date on them because they may last just about forever, but who knows how long anything has been in Noct's cabinets for.

"He's not answering," Noct mutters as he drops into a chair at the kitchen table. "What'd you _do_?"

"What the fuck do you mean what'd I do?" Gladio slams some Cup Noodles down in front of Noct, hissing as the broth spills over and burns his hand. "I haven't even talked to him in weeks."

"But if it wasn't you, then it's..." Noct trails off, staring into his noodles like they have a secret to tell him. Gladio tosses a fork toward him, frowning.

"Then it's what?"

Noct shrugs and picks up his fork, but doesn't start eating. Gladio watches him stir the noodles, suspiciously eyeing his faint worried frown.

"I just...hope he didn't get hurt in training is all." Noct checks his phone again, his frown strengthening as he throws it onto the table.

"You know," Gladio states flatly, and can't even feel smug when Noct looks up at him in surprise. Noct isn't supposed to know what Iggy has gone through. Hell, _Gladio_ isn't even supposed to know. "How the hell did you find out?"

"How did _you_?"

Gladio narrows his eyes at Noct, but doesn't say anything. He's not going to reveal his dad's part in this shit. Noct just glares back at him, crossing his arms and looking as stubborn as Gladio has ever seen him.

"Fine, whatever," Gladio mutters. He isn't in the mood to try to make Noct talk. He decides to make himself some Cup Noodles as well, slamming things around to make up for the tense silence.

"We should go see how he's doing," Noct demands when Gladio finishes up and sits at the table across from him. Gladio sighs and starts eating. "He might be hurt!"

"He won't thank us for barging in," Gladio says. "Just let him rest. If that's what he's even doing."

"Don't you even _care_? Just because he's not talking to you—"

Gladio slams his fork down on the table and sort of regrets not throwing it at Noct instead. "Don't," he warns.

"Why won't either of you just _talk_ about it?"

"It's not any of your damn business, kid."

"It's affecting everyone. Makes it our business too." Noct doesn't say anything else, but he does shove a forkful of noodles in his mouth.

Gladio gives him a half-hearted glare before he picks up his fork again, but he doesn't feel like eating any more. He pokes at the noodles anyway, taking another bite that tastes like nothing, and then gives up. The rest of his cup gets thrown in the trash, and he can feel Noct glaring at him as he starts cleaning up what little mess there is on the counter.

"He doesn't want to talk to me," he says quietly. "And I'm not gonna make him."

"So I'll go check on him alone—"

"You're not going anywhere. Just shut up and eat."

Noct sighs, loudly enough that it grates on Gladio's nerves, but he doesn't say anything else. It's as close to an agreement as Gladio's going to get, so he leaves the kitchen in search of something to keep Noct occupied. Not that Noct is _willing_ to be distracted. He keeps his eyes glued to his phone, mostly ignoring Gladio. It would be a lot more annoying if Gladio wasn't in a similar frame of mind, his own phone never far from his hand.

His heart jumps when the door opens, but the voice calling for Noct is Prompto's. Noct, dramatically sprawled face-down on his couch, doesn't respond, so Gladio heads for the door himself. He grabs Prompto's arm more roughly than he intended, loosening his grip when Prompto flinches.

"Keep him occupied," Gladio grumbles, keeping his voice low so Noct can't hear him. "And don't mention Iggy."

"I—what?" Prompto gives Gladio a confused look, but nods anyway. "Is Ignis okay?"

Gladio just growls and walks away. He wishes he _knew_. He leans against the kitchen counter and stares at his phone, willing Iggy's number to pop up. He doesn't know how long he stands there before the sounds of Oracle Quest filter into his hearing, but when he tries to move he has to stretch his back and legs before he can push himself away from the counter. He supposes it's up to him to feed Noct and Prompto, then. And there's no more Cup Noodles.

He's no Iggy, but he can at least manage a _basic_ meal. Probably. Well, at least he won't burn the kitchen down. It'd be better if he could just call for pizza or something, but the last thing anyone needs is the stress of the Crownsguard below blocking the delivery guy from getting up to Noct's apartment. Again.

Cooking distracts him from thoughts of Iggy. It's hard to worry when everything is trying to set itself on fire, though he does manage a brief moment to curse Iggy's name and all the children he's never going to have. Next time he's just calling for the damn pizza.

Once he's managed to salvage some food (well, sort of), he drags Prompto and Noct away from the TV so they can eat. Prompto stares at his plate like he's afraid his meal is going to come back to life and try to eat _him_ , which is ridiculous. Gladio's pretty sure he's burnt it far past the point of resurrection.

"Eat it or starve," Gladio mutters. "Unless either of you've heard from Iggy, this is all you're gonna get."

"Is it _edible_?" Prompto asks, poking it with a fork. "It's not going to make me sick, is it?"

"No, but I will if you don't shut up."

Prompto glares at him, but he does it while shoving a forkful of food in his mouth, so Gladio considers it a victory anyway. Noct doesn't say anything, pushing his dinner around his plate and not eating any of it. Gladio would normally say something about that—he fucking _hates_ when Noct sulks—but he figures he can let it go this once.

"I'm gonna go check on Iggy," Gladio says once he's done forcing himself to eat. Noct's head shoots up. "And you're not fucking coming with me, Noct. If he _is_ hurt, he doesn't want you to see it."

It's one of the few times Gladio manages to get Noct to shut up without an argument, though the scowl on his face suggests he wants to. "You should bring him some food," Noct says to his plate, poking at it again. "There's a food cart by his apartment, they have these dumplings—"

"Yeah, whatever," Gladio interrupts. "Just text it to me."

"And there's cake in the fridge for him." That brings Gladio up short, and he stares as Noct's cheeks turn pink. "Just bring it with you, okay?"

"Anything else, Your Highness?" Gladio asks. Noct just shrugs, completely ignoring the sarcastic tone, so Gladio takes that as a no and turns to the fridge. The cake is on the top shelf in a solid white box, one of the nice ones that doesn't have that stupid flimsy plastic viewing window on the top. He grabs it and heads for the front door, struggling into his shoes while trying not to drop it.  

The trip to Iggy's apartment is a short one, and he digs his phone out halfway there to check his messages. Still nothing from Iggy, but Noct has sent him _two_. The first is the one he expected, giving him the name and exact location of the stupid food cart, but the second gives Gladio a _very_ detailed (and accurate, as far as he can tell) description of how to break into the apartment. Which ends with Noct's keycode.

"Why the fuck do you know how to break in??" Gladio texts back. Noct replies quickly, but it's just a shrug emoji with a number three for lips. Noct has sent him a kissing emoji. What the _fuck_.

It's probably best if he just ignores it. He puts his phone away and shifts uncomfortably in the tiny subway seat as he waits for the right stop.

He shoves his way through the crowd and back to the surface before he double checks his phone for the location of the cart. Noct's provided Iggy's order as well, so he reads it off to the food cart guy and waits impatiently. Juggling the food _and_ the cake is a pain in the ass, and he grumbles to himself as he walks the last three blocks to Iggy's apartment building. Gladio has never hated visiting Iggy before, but of course the idiot lives on the seventh floor and someone has to get off the elevator on every floor under it. Should've just taken the damn stairs like he usually does. At least there's never anybody on them to piss him off.

He practically runs out of the elevator when the doors open, stomping down the corridor until he reaches Iggy's door. He glares at the keypad briefly, shifts everything into an unsteady pile on his left arm, and opens the text from Noct again. For a second he's tempted to try out the break in directions, but it's way too complicated with everything he's carrying, so he just sighs and punches in Noct's code.

Iggy's apartment is messier than he's ever seen it, not that that's saying much. One shoe is on its side in the middle of the entranceway, and Gladio raises an eyebrow at it as he kicks it out of his way. The kitchen is even worse, a host of pans taking up most of the counter space. He _almost_ manages to get all the food on the counter despite them, but he misjudges how much room he had left and knocks the last pan down. The handle catches on the pan next to it and brings that one down as well, and Gladio starts cursing even before the chain effect reaches him and knocks a container of food to the floor. _Great_. He should've just let Noct come.

He's wiping up the last of the food when he notices Iggy enter the kitchen, but he finishes cleaning before he bothers to look up. Iggy's leaning on the doorway and watching Gladio curiously, barely even looks annoyed that Gladio's there, and Gladio tosses the rag he was using in the sink as frustration sparks under his skin again. He's not here to yell at Iggy for disappearing. He's here to find out what's _wrong_.

He looks Iggy over slowly, takes in the tenseness of his shoulders and the faint remnants of bruises on his ribs, and he still can't figure out what's going on. Iggy doesn't look _that_ hurt, not enough to take an entire day off. Especially not with that _damn training_.

Iggy finally catches his eye and Gladio tries to _will_ him to talk first. But the knowledge of Iggy's training and the memory of his own screw up make him uncomfortable, and he frowns down at his dirty pants as he tries to think of something to say.  
  
"You need to text Noct."

**Author's Note:**

> Iggy changes Noct's keycode and won't give him a new one for _weeks_.


End file.
